The Wallis Presents The Mambo Kings & Camille Zamora

Beverly Hills, CA – Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents MAMBO KINGS AND CAMILLE ZAMORA in a passionate evening of classic Zarzuela arias, tangos, boleros, and other musical treasures from Spain, Cuba, and The Americas on Thursday, October 13, 2022, at 7:30 PM, in The Wallis’ Bram Goldsmith Theater. The performance, which takes place during National Hispanic Heritage Month, spotlights the musical chemistry of the iconic Mambo Kings and the magnetic star soprano Camille Zamora. Mambo Kings, hailed as the nation’s foremost Latin jazz ensemble, have thrilled audiences for decades with their explosive blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation. Zamora, hailed as a leading interpreter of classical Spanish song by NBC Latino and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has been described by Opera Magazine as “a singer blessed with intense communicative ability who blazes with passion,” garnering acclaim for her “dramatic and nuanced” (The New York Times) interpretations of repertoire ranging from Mozart to tango. 

Zamora curates and performs this program as part of her work as The Wallis’ 2022/2023 Artist-in-Residence. Together with fellow Sing for Hope Co-Founder and Artist-in-Residence Monica Yunus, she will create multiple innovative arts events for The Wallis this season. Sing for Hope, which is The Wallis' 2022/2023 Season Company-in-Residence, is a leading “arts peace corps” that creates initiatives – including the Sing for Hope Pianos in parks and public spaces from the Bronx to Beirut – that promote the mission of art for all. In addition to Zamora’s performance with the Mambo Kings, she and Yunus present, with The Wallis, the Sing for Hope Production of The Last Sorcerer (Le Dernier Sorcier), Pauline Viardot’s 1867 “eco-feminist” masterwork salon opera 150 years ahead of its time. Additionally, Zamora and Yunus will appear in The Wallis’ signature Sorting Room series in December, educational initiatives, and more to be announced.

Tickets ($39 - $125) are on sale now, as are single tickets and subscriptions to all performances in The Wallis' 2022/2023 Season. TheWallis.org/mambo

CAMILLE ZAMORA balances a vibrant career of opera, recital, and concert performances. In collaboration with artists ranging from Yo-Yo Ma to Sting, she is known for her “dignity and glowing sound” (The New York Times) in “luminous, transcendently lyrical” performances (Opera News) that “combine gentility and emotional fire” (The Houston Chronicle). Zamora’s performances of Spanish repertoire have been heard on five continents, in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to Zimbabwe’s Harare International Festival, and in live broadcasts on NPR, BBC, Deutsche Radio, and Sirius XM. She has performed Tango Caliente and Sueños de España – her signature concerts of zarzuela arias, boleros, and more arranged for her by Grammy® Award winner Jeff Tyzik – with orchestras including Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and more. She has performed and recorded principal roles in zarzuelas including La Verbena de la Paloma, La Revoltosa, La Tabernera del Puerto, and Luisa Fernanda, the latter in ten sold-out performances with LA Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Zamora has sung with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including Orchestra of St. Luke’s, London Symphony Orchestra, Guadalajara Symphony, and American Symphony Orchestra, and in live broadcasts on NPR, BBC Radio, Deutsche Radio, and Sirius XM. She performed Brahms’ Liebeslieder with Leon Fleisher at Aspen Music Festival, Beethoven’s Mass in C at Alice Tully Hall, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 “The Resurrection” with Chattanooga Symphony, Handel’s Messiah with Tucson Symphony, Schubert Lieder for the opening night of American Ballet Theater at City Center, Bach’s Magnificat at Carnegie Hall, and, also at Carnegie Hall, the premiere of Christopher Theofanidis’ Song of Elos, a performance she repeated at the American Academy in Rome. A champion of contemporary music, she made her Lincoln Center Festival debut in Bright Sheng’s Poems from the Sung Dynasty for Soprano and Orchestra and premiered Grammy Award winner Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein’s Away, but Not Far Away at Cooper Union’s Great Hall. She has performed Aaron Jay Kernis’ Simple Songs for Soprano and Orchestra under the baton of the composer, and works of Ricky Ian Gordon with the composer at the piano at Lincoln Center. She has also premiered works by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Bernd Franke, Roberto Sierra, Henry Brant, and Richard Wargo with companies including Spoleto Festival USA, New York Festival of Song, Continuum, and American Opera Projects. Zamora’s discography is extensive, with her most recent album – If the night grows dark / Si la noche se hace oscura: Four Centuries of Spanish Song – debuting on Billboard‘s Top Ten Classical Chart. Her recordings of twentieth and twenty-first century works include The Music of Chris Theofanidis (Albany Records), Strauss’ Die Liebe der Danae (ASO), New Music with Guitar / David Starobin (Bridge), and Scott Gendel’s At Last with Yo-Yo Ma on An AIDS Quilt Songbook: Sing for Hope (Naxos/GPR). Other recent recordings include Pauline Viardot’s Le Dernier Sorcier, which was a #1 Classical Best Seller on Amazon and an Opera News Critic’s Choice, and Hindemith’s The Long Christmas Dinner, a New York Times Classical Playlist Choice and an Opera News Recording of the Year. An advocate for arts in education, Zamora is the Co-Founder of Sing for Hope, a leading “arts peace corps” that creates initiatives – including the Sing for Hope Pianos in parks and public spaces from the Bronx to Beirut – that promote the mission of art for all. She has presented and performed at The United Nations, the US Capitol, Aspen Institute, Harvard University, Oxford University, and the Skoll World Forum for Social Entrepreneurship. She has been honored with a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Award, a World Harmony Torch-Bearer Award, a 100 Hispanic Women Community Pride Award, and named one of the Top 50 Americans in Philanthropy by Town & Country, NY1’s New Yorker of the Week, and one of CNN’s Most Intriguing People. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School, and serves on the Boards of Directors of Juilliard and Grameen Creative Lab.

MAMBO KINGS, together since 1995, made their orchestral debut in 1997 with the Rochester Philharmonic and Conductor Jeff Tyzik. Since then, they’ve appeared at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and in Pops concerts with the orchestras of Baltimore, Vancouver, Detroit, Dallas, Naples (FL) and Portland (OR), among many others, performing original compositions and arrangements by pianist and Musical Director Richard DeLaney. As a quintet, Mambo Kings have appeared as featured soloists at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Fest, the Music In The Mountains Festival in Durango (CO), the Lewiston (NY) Jazz Fest and the Big Sky Arts Fest in Bozeman, MT. More recently, Mambo Kings have performed with the Alabama Symphony, a sold-out concert at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago, a show with the Des Moines Symphony, online performances with the Austin, Buffalo, and West Michigan Orchestras, and a live performance with the Virginia Symphony. Mambo Kings has released three recordings, including Marinera (2003), Live! (2005) and Nostalgia (2008) and continues to receive radio airplay throughout North America and Puerto Rico. Mambo Kings’ Musical Director Richard DeLaney, a native of Lima, Peru, has been active as a jazz pianist, arranger and composer in Rochester since earning a Master's Degree from the Eastman School Of Music in 1978. He has written and performed music for film, television, the stage and the concert hall. He has performed with the Rochester Philharmonic and the Rochester Chamber Orchestra, as well as with Paquito D'Rivera, Bobby Sanabria and numerous bandleaders in Rochester. DeLaney joined the piano faculty of the Hochstein School of Music in 1985 and has directed the school's Jazz Ensemble Program since 2001. He received the Faculty Service Award in 1996. Percussionist Wilfredo (Freddy) Colón (drums, timbales, bongos) has performed with Aretha Franklin, Tito Puente, Soneros Del Barrio, Johnny Rivera, El Cano and Paquito Acosta. He has taught percussion at the Eastman School Of Music's Community Education Division and is much in demand as a percussion clinician in the Rochester area. Saxophonist John Viavattine has been an accomplished woodwind specialist for many years. He has toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, including a memorable performance in Washington, D.C. at President Reagan's 1980 Inaugural Ball. Viavattine has also performed with Chuck and Gap Mangione, Jeff Tyzik and the Rochester Philharmonic, The Temptations, Ray Charles, Patti Page, Connie Francis, Vic Damone and Lou Rawls. Percussionist Tony Padilla (congas) was born and raised in Rochester. A self taught percussionist, he began playing at age 12 and has been performing professionally since the age of 14. Padilla has played with such artists as Paquito De Rivera, Steve Gadd, Peter Erskine, Arturo Sandoval, Jerry Gonzalez, Lou Gramm, The Maelstrom Percussion Ensem-ble and The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1983, he has been conducting clinics/workshops throughout the United States, including The Eastman School Of Music, The New York State Teachers Music Association, The Percussive Arts Society, and a variety of colleges and high schools. Bassist Hector Diaz has been playing with bands since the age of thirteen. He has performed with Ismael Miranda, Hector Tricoche, "El Cano" Estremera, Paquito Acosta, Zafra Negra, Luisito Rosario, Wendell Rivera and Johnny Rivera. While in the Army, Diaz toured with an All Soldiers show throughout Army bases in South Korea.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills. To purchase single tickets, subscriptions and for more information, please call 310-746-4000 (Monday – Friday, 10 am to 6 pm) or visit TheWallis.org.

The Wallis is closely monitoring the ever-changing local health and safety environment carefully and addressing known health factors at the moment. Should plans change and any performance be required to be postponed or cancelled or if venue capacity limitations are instituted, ticket holders will be notified immediately with options for their purchased tickets per The Wallis' ticketing policies. 

The health and safety of patrons, our staff, and artists inside and outside the venue are a top priority for The Wallis, which is requiring all patrons to provide, upon entry, proof of full vaccination or a negative PCR test result within 48 hours or a verifiable Antigen test within 24 hours from your performance date, along with a government issued photo ID. Facial masks, covering both the mouth and nose, are still required at all times while within the venue. The Wallis' health and safety protocols are also subject to change at the venue's sole discretion or in accordance with LA County and City of Beverly Hills regulations. Current Health & Safety Protocols and updates may also be accessed at TheWallis.org/Safety. Policies are subject to change.

About Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts:  

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is a dynamic cultural hub and community resource where local, national and international artists share their artistry with ever-expanding audiences. The campus, located in the heart of Beverly Hills, CA, is committed to robust and distinctive presentations and education programs curated with both creativity and social impact in mind. Distinguished by its eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its location in the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis has produced and presented more than 350 theater, dance, music, film, cabaret, conversation, and family entertainment programs since its doors opened in October 2013. Hailed as “au courant” (LaLa Magazine), The Wallis was lauded by Culture Vulture, which proclaims, “If you love expecting the unexpected in the performing arts, you have to love The Wallis.” Its programming has been nominated for 79 Ovation Awards and nine L.A. Drama Critic's Circle Awards. The campus itself, a breathtaking 70,000-square-foot facility, celebrating the classic and the modern, has garnered six architectural awards. Designed by acclaimed architect Zoltan E. Pali (SPF:architects), the restored building features the original 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places), which serves as the theater's dramatic yet welcoming lobby, and includes the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the-art Bram Goldsmith Theater; the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater; an inviting open-air plaza for family, community and other performances; and GRoW @ The Wallis: A Space for Arts Education, where learning opportunities for all ages and backgrounds abound. Together, these elements embrace the city's history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for L.A.-area visitors and residents alike. 

For more information about The Wallis, please visit: TheWallis.org. 

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